Pigs In A Blanket

The internet will tell you that Pigs In A Blanket is an appetizer made up of little cocktail wieners wrapped in baked pastry dough. These things flourished in the 50s, along with cigarettes, fondue, red lipstick and anti-depressants.

I personally don’t favor this variety of Pigs In A Blanket. Instead, I want the blanket to be fluffy, soft and light—more like a cashmere blanket. Yes.

And instead of cocktail wieners (ew), I like to use savory breakfast sausages I find in the freezer section of my grocery store. I actually found spicy ones which worked pretty well with the sweet flavors from the maple syrup.

I think I might’ve had this version of Pigs In A Blanket at a Denny’s or iHOP when I was a kid, and haven’t eaten/seen it since. What a shame.

This recipe couldn’t be simpler. Pancakes wrapped around sausage links.

Now, I usually prefer my pancakes to be all fluffy and tall-like, but in this occasion I needed them to be a bit thinner, this way they could actually fold around the link. Food math!

And with this recipe, the oven is your friend.

Everything gets transferred to a warm oven just as it’s done cooking. We have no room for cold food around these parts.

Oh and you could easily swap out these pork, spicy sausages for vegetarian, tofu breakfast sausages. Pigs In A Blanket for everyone!

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. In a cast iron skillet, add a teaspoon of olive oil and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the breakfast links and cook until both sides are golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Place the links on a parchment lined baking sheet and transfer it to the oven.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a large measuring cup or a medium bowl, measure out the buttermilk. Add the egg and melted butter; mix until thoroughly combined. In one batch, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until barely combined.

3. Preheat your skillet over medium heat. Brush the skillet with a tablespoons of butter. Add a heaping tablespoon of batter to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes on first side. When small bubbles begin to form, flip on other side to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Transfer to the oven to keep warm. Repeat the process until you have cooked your way through all of the batter.

4. To assemble, lay a sausage in the center of a pancake and fold, placing the skewer at the point in which the pancake overlaps.

In our house, pigs in a blanket means stuffed cabbage rolls. Blanched cabbage leaves are stuffed with a mixture of hamburger, rice and onions and baked in a tomato sauce. But, this is another good idea for Christmas brunch!

In North Dakota where Germans from Russia settled, we share a lot of dishes that blend the two cultures. I’m guessing the use of cabbage is from the years in Russia and possibly, the reference to pigs might have meant ground pork had been used in the past. They are also called halupsi (y) (e).

I didnt even now that the original version was not breakfast. I have only ever assoicated pigs in a blanket with sausage and pancakes. I have never been a huge fan, and i’m not certain why. These look so good that I am now craving some!

Our version of pigs in a blanket was round steak wrapped around bacon and onion and braised in beef broth that was later thickened into a gravy with some sour cream added. But we’re german, we’re odd like that heh

This is a really cute idea. I think my 7-year old would definitely get a kick out of it. He loves pancakes and these breakfast sausages. Add a skewer that resembles a sword of any kind and he is boundto be thrilled. Thank you.

I made these last night with just regular Aunt Jemima mix and the store brand breakfast sausage and REAL Vermont maple syrup and they were sooooo good. The toothpicks didn’t really hold the pancake around the sausage, but that was ok. It was a great little treat for the evening. Thanks!